The Value Care Alliance includes Danbury, New Milford and Norwalk hospitals and Griffin Hospital in Derby, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Middlesex Hospital in Middletown and St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport.

Member hospitals serve about 1.3 million people and want to remain not-for-profit.

The alliance is not a merger. The hospitals will remain independent in a partnership allowing them to seek better prices for services such as certain lab tests and to share best practices.

Five other hospitals in Waterbury, Bristol and eastern Connecticut are seeking to be acquired by Tenet Healthcare Corp., a for-profit company based in Dallas.